Bunch of software released the same day? [LWN.net]

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 3, 2006 20:29 UTC (Tue) by gvy (guest, #11981)
Parent article: Slackware 11.0 is released

Well let's check it out.

It's got a bunch of ancient software (or moderately old one on or near nex-gen release day): XFCE (4.4 is around the corner); glibc (especially funny with 2.5 release); gcc 3.4.6 (4.1.1, no?); Python (2.5 is out); Xorg 6.9 (7.1); the only choice I concur is ancient Apache (although 2.2 branch might be worth a look if its security trail won't be that horrendous as with 2.0).

I'm not a versioman myself, but trading second hand packages for new and shiny and selling slackware to beginners just seems a *real* marketing to me.

/* to save electrons on reiterating on collaboration, quality and manageability, etc */
# include <stdslackflame.h>

PS: ;-)

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Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 3, 2006 21:09 UTC (Tue) by dvandeun (guest, #24273) [Link]

Glibc and gcc have been deliberately held back in Slackware 11 because it wants to offer the choice between kernel 2.4 and kernel 2.6. Gcc 4 cannot compile kernel 2.4, and glibc 2.4 does not support linuxthreads anymore.

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 4, 2006 20:00 UTC (Wed) by beoba (guest, #16942) [Link]

Honest question: What does 2.4 offer that 2.6 is still unable to provide?

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 4, 2006 20:45 UTC (Wed) by dlang (subscriber, #313) [Link]

in some configurations it's a little smaller

but mostly it's warm and fuzzies that it's not changeing significantly while 2.6 is continueing to evolve too rapidly for many people's tastes.

Speed of evolution...

Posted Oct 5, 2006 1:14 UTC (Thu) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link]

Kernel 2.6.8 is evolving too rapidly?

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 7, 2006 9:26 UTC (Sat) by oak (subscriber, #2786) [Link]

> mostly it's warm and fuzzies that it's not changeing significantly
> while 2.6 is continueing to evolve too rapidly

I.e. meaning that v2.4 is much more extensively / tested than any
given v2.6.x version... Doesn't v2.4 (e.g. with commercial OSS
drivers) also support some older HW which v2.6 doesn't support anymore?

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 5, 2006 9:34 UTC (Thu) by dvandeun (guest, #24273) [Link]

> Honest question: What does 2.4 offer that 2.6 is still unable to provide?

Ease of mind.

That, and long filenames on DOS disks of course. :-)

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 4, 2006 0:04 UTC (Wed) by kirkengaard (subscriber, #15022) [Link]

Consider this the stable release. Major system basics have been frozen at compatibility points for the kernel choice, as has been mentioned. However, most of the other software is current, and we tend to be ahead of the curve on bugs, whether because we stayed with a known stable, or because we're already on a version without the bug. You cannot truly say that the "ancient" choices here are so old that they defy use, nor can you say that they make it impossible to compile current code under a Slackware 11 installation. Read ChangeLog.txt and you will get an idea of why certain newer versions get rejected. The choices tend to be explained.

If you're that impatient for current stuff, watch the flux ramp up after this in -current. And consider that it could be worse. You could choose Debian stable releases. I consider this to be a nice happy medium. :)

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 4, 2006 0:47 UTC (Wed) by allesfresser (subscriber, #216) [Link]

As for the Python version, I'm very glad that Pat didn't upgrade to v2.5, since many things aren't yet compatible with all the changes in 2.5. Prime example in my world: Zope and Plone.

Pat makes a system that works, not one built for coolness value. My impression of his standard is that he uses the latest known very-stable version of a package, not necessarily the absolute newest release.

Slackware = VERY stable Linux distribution

Posted Oct 4, 2006 7:17 UTC (Wed) by pr1268 (subscriber, #24648) [Link]

Amen to that! Kudos to Pat and the entire Slackware Team for a stable distribution.

Thanks also to the fellow posters for enlightening us on why Slackware holds back on the GCC version - I never realized that the 2.4 kernel won't compile on GCC 4.x (I use a vanilla 2.6 myself).

Again, to quote Allesfresser, Slackware just works!

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 5, 2006 11:37 UTC (Thu) by lysse (subscriber, #3190) [Link]

Do not feed the bridge-dwellers, they are dangerous.

(A dangerou is like a troll, but hairier.)

Bunch of software released the same day?

Posted Oct 9, 2006 0:23 UTC (Mon) by juhl (subscriber, #33245) [Link]

> I'm not a versioman myself, but trading second hand packages for new and
> shiny and selling slackware to beginners just seems a *real* marketing to
> me.

I'll take "slightly older and stable" over "new and shiney" any day. That's one of the things that has kept me using Slackware through the years - it just works - that's worth quite a lot if you ask me.